Project description
Identification and targeted radiation of hypoxic brain tumour regions
Sometimes subpopulations of cells within a single tumour have different genomes or observable characteristics. The heterogeneous nature of two of the most aggressive types of brain cancers can make it difficult to treat them effectively. Low oxygenation (hypoxia) is linked to radiotherapy resistance in heterogeneous cancers, yet tumour hypoxia is not currently measured when planning radiotherapy treatment. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the HYPERACT project aims to enable non-invasive characterisation of tumour hypoxia and delivery of effective radiation specifically to hypoxic areas. They will combine magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography to visualise hypoxia followed by targeted carbon ion radiotherapy.
Objective
Glioblastoma and skull base chordoma are two of the most aggressive types of brain cancers and have an extremely poor prognosis, with most tumours recurring within months of surgical and chemoradiation treatments. Recurrence is caused by tumour heterogeneity, as regions of the tumour with different biological properties respond differently to treatment. Tumour hypoxia (low oxygenation) is the leading cause of resistance to radiotherapy in heterogeneous cancers and is linked to poor patient prognosis. Effectively counteracting tumour hypoxia requires delivering higher doses of radiation selectively to hypoxic tumour regions. This is hard to achieve with conventional radiation treatment, where a uniform moderate radiation dose is delivered to the entire tumour target and dose-escalation strategies are limited by toxicity constraints established to limit damage to important surrounding brain structures. Standard radiotherapy plans do not incorporate any measure of tumour hypoxia, due to limitations in imaging techniques currently used for planning. The work proposed in this fellowship aims to improve radiation treatment for heterogeneous cancers by combining quantitative MRI/PET imaging, to non-invasively characterise regions of tumour hypoxia, and carbon ions radiotherapy, to deliver higher doses of radiation to those regions, whilst sparing surrounding healthy tissue. This strategy will deliver a more effective radiation dose distribution, providing an opportunity to improve local tumour control and patients’ survival outcomes and quality of life.
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2022-PF-01
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20133 Milano
Italy
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.